Joseph Smitherman
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Joseph Thomas Smitherman (December 24, 1929 – September 11, 2005) was an American
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who served more than 35 years as mayor of
Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...
. He was in office during the
Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three Demonstration (protest), protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery. The marches were organized by Nonviolence, nonvi ...
of the Civil Rights Movement. "He can do the reformed redneck better than anyone else," is a famous line about Joe Smitherman.


Life and career

Smitherman was born in Alberta, Alabama. His family moved to Selma, where he graduated from high school. Smitherman worked as a railroad brakeman before joining the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
during the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. Upon discharge, he opened a
home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...
store. In 1960, he won a seat on the Selma City Council. He was elected mayor in 1964. He resigned in 1979 and was succeeded by Council President Carl Morgan (d. 2006). A year later he returned to office, defeating Mayor Morgan in a three-way race. He served five more terms until the 2000 mayoral elections, when he lost to James Perkins Jr., Selma's first African American mayor, who ran under the slogan "Joe's Got To Go". In his early political career in the 1960s he was in favor of segregation, and controversially referred to
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
as "Martin Luther Coon" in a 1965 televised interview. He explained it as a slip of the tongue. After African Americans gained voting rights, he appointed several African Americans officials to high municipal offices. He gained enough support among the African American population to remain in office. He proudly referred to his significant support in the African American community. At the time of the Selma march he was considered a moderate and not close to Judge James Hare or to Sheriff
Jim Clark James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the ...
, who ordered and carried out the police operation against marchers. Smitherman had ordered city police not to use force against the protesters, but the order was disobeyed by the safety director, Wilson Baker. Before the marches, he had rejected the possibility of forming a biracial reconciliation committee.Craig Swanson. 2014. The Selma Campaign. Archway Publishing, pp. 45-48 He later stated that he had always been racially tolerant and that it was only the political climate around him that required him to work against the civil rights movement but that he had really been in favor of change.


Death

At the time of his death, Smitherman was recuperating from hip surgery and had heart problems. The Joseph T. Smitherman Historic Building in Selma is named in his honor.


References

1929 births 2005 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Alabama Alabama city council members United States Army personnel of the Korean War Mayors of places in Alabama Politicians from Selma, Alabama People from Wilcox County, Alabama {{Civil-rights-movement-stub